A Song Each Day

Tried to do something that I would never do…  The drums were tuned then a white sheet placed over the entire kit including the cymbals.  If I ever wanted to do an Al Green record this would be the way to do the drums.

Instrumentation:
Bass, Assorted Keys: Tim Delaney
Drums, Guitar, Assorted Keys: Fires of Bangkok

Lyrics:
N/A

I always liked Chet Baker…

Instrumentation:
Guitar: Fires of Bangkok
Vox: Fires of Bangkok

Lyrics:
There’s a bird,
outside my window,
when it rains,
her friends don’t answer…

There’s a bird,
outside my window,
when it rains,
her friends don’t answer…

When the lightnin’ flash,
and the thunder clap,
no matter how her heart reacts,
she’s still in my window…

This is a shot at writing a song in a genre that I really love.

Instrumentation:
Drum Programming: Fires of Bangkok
Bass, Guitar, Vox: Fires of Bangkok

Lyrics:
Not today, maybe tomorrow…
I don’t know why, Its the least I could do.
Taking our time, but don’t take it for granted…
I don’t know, I don’t know what else we could do.

And I know its right, and it feels so right…
But I won’t follow you so far from home.

Today the pain, is meant to be borrowed…
At least they were lies, and now that they’re gone.
We’re back to our senses, and nothing is wrong…
Light as a feather, what could be wrong.

And I know its right, and it feels so right…
But I won’t follow you so far from home.

A knife in the side, a break in my spirit…
Something dies, and we never look back.
Waiting for something, something we lack…
Like we never knew things could be so bad.

And I know its right, and it feels so right…
But I won’t follow you so far from home.

I have always been deeply influenced by international music.  After listening to Geoffrey Oryema I wanted to create a song with guitar that possessed the same harmonic qualities.  Most of this music is recorded very quietly.  This is what gives the music its ethereal harmonics.  The brushes on this song were created by the dragging of shoes across a dirty cement floor.  Real brushes didn’t create the sound we were looking for.

To learn more about Geoffrey Oryema visit http://www.realworldrecords.com/artists/geoffrey-oryema

Until Tomorrow

Instrumentation:
Guitar: Fires of Bangkok
Bass: Tim Delaney
Brushes/Shoes: Fires of Bangkok
Additional Percussion: Tim Delaney

Lyrics:
N/A

Instrumentation:
Vox: Fires of Bangkok
Guitar: Fires of Bangkok – Birmingham Alabama Yamaha Acoustic with high E to B string substitution…

Lyrics:
We watch our trinkets,
they wash upon the shore…

And we dream of the day,
I won’t see the law…

The law has guns,
guns kill people everyday…

Darkness carries me,
darkness scares me…

We watch our feelings,
walk across the floor…

And we weep for them all,
as they head down the hall…

They all have wings,
they fly by people everyday…

Something carries me,
something without wings…

Beginning Monday, November 16, Atlanta-based musician and songwriter Andy King will begin his daily song project. I know first hand from having been Andy’s neighbor a couple of years back that he is a very prolific songwriter (especially around 3am it seemed…), and I can’t wait to hear what he pulls together here. In fact, as I’ve told Andy on many occasions, the only thing that kept me from calling the cops during his 3am sessions was that the music that woke me up was never bad.

So be cure to check out the “Current Artist” tab up top for more info about Andy, and you can also catch up on past projects by clicking “Previous Artists.”

Thanks!

well, 30 days have come and gone. i really enjoyed this experience. sure, there were times when it was daunting and laborious,
but mainly i loved having it there everyday.
generally i feel pretty good about the results. most of my complaints concern production/recording quality…and i would much rather have complaints on that front than about the songs themselves.
as far as the songs go, there are definitely up and downs, hits and misses, but that is to be expected under these circumstances.
mostly, i must admit, i feel proud of what i’ve done here…i mean, it easily could have turned out to be 30 stinkbombs,
know what i mean?
many thanks to CJ and asongeachday for letting me participate in this thing. it’s been a blast.
now, who wants to start a band? i am completely serious.

i present to you the cast:

thank you

holy freakin frijoles!
30 songs.
i’m going to come back this weekend and put up a wrap-up type post with all of my thoughts on this crazy scene…
right now i’m in much too thick of a post a song each day haze.
…but for now, in honor of our departure from each other, i have written us a good old fashioned country breakup song.
thanks, dear listeners

instruments:
two guitars, one bass, two vocals

lyrics:
this is my last thought on the subject
you and i are getting close to the end
to the end of all the good times
to the end of all the struggles
to the end of all the wondering about what is left to come
to the end of all the laughter
to the end of all the ups and downs
to the end of all the feelings we felt until we all felt numb
to the end of the tug of war
to the end of what we’re pulling for
to the end of everything we threw in each other’s face
to the end of the time we spent
going until there’s nothing left
to the end of no accounting for anybody’s taste
to the end
this is my last thought on the subject
you and i are getting close to the end
until we start this thing up again

this one is a bit of an experiment. i wanted to do something that was at least partially improvised.
i decided to do it in a seven count. i set my click track, pressed record, got behind the drums, and went.
then i moved to the marimba and just started to play on top of the drums. that is where i set up the chord progression, which gave me a map for the rest of the instruments. then i added the other parts, each one recorded on the first try.
the results are definitely loose, but it was fun to play and i like the feeling of it.

instruments:
drums
marimba: musser
bass : beat ass harmony
guitar: yamaha hollow body electric
organ: hammond

i initially was going to have a lot more layers going on in this song, but i really like the sound of it stripped down like this…i guess because it allows the drum part to come through more…
…also, it’s 11:55

the idea for the lyrics sprang from watching people in a restaurant from outside.

instruments:
guitar: zanny’s generic classical
bass: beat ass harmony
drums
vocals x’s 3
hand claps

lyrics:
i watched you through the glass
but it should have been a screen
you all looked just like
actors in a movie scene
laughing it up
dressed to the nines
young and fit
raising your cup
saying your lines
with charm and wit
wide eyed and blue and silver toned
the crowd holds it’s breath
and shivers to the bone
for what you might say next
from outside
the motion’s slow
the meaning’s deep
but i don’t
really know
i’m not in this scene
there is no such thing
there’s no fire
or hero’s cape
there’s no last minute escape
when broken down
and barely there
what’s left stands
true and bare